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Memory (from 3) mainframe computer makers adapted his
patent for their machines.
trieve data in a computer using magnetic
devices, the biography reports. Royalties and legal battles
Wang earned substantial royalties from his
Magnetic properties invention, although it required a long legal
The Chinese-American engineer, according battle with IBM and other mainframe mak-
to a biography, studied the magnetic prop- ers to receive what he believed were his
erties of magnetic core material and devel- just payments for the patent.
oped a process to store data in them.
In 1951, Wang left the Harvard Lab, un-
Not surprisingly, researchers at nearby happy with allowing others to control his
MIT were also interested in magnetic core inventions.
storage and developed the process for use
in computers. He and several investors then formed
Wang Laboratories in Cambridge, Mass.,
which became a principal seller in products
for magnetic tape control and numerical
control.
IBM’s iconic System/360 was one of the first mainframes to em-
ploy Wang’s core memory. (IBM)
Giant supplier of desktop peripherals
Wang Labs grew to become a giant interna-
tional company supplying desktop calcula-
tors and word processing systems. In 1983,
Dr. Wang retired as president, retaining the
An Wang’s patent filed in October 1949 and issued in May 1955 CEO title and assuming the role of board
marked the entry of memory into computing. chairman.
Filed patent
According to the World biography, Wang, At its peak in the 1980s, Wang Labs, ac-
with a colleague, published an account of cording to Wikipedia. listed over 33,000
his results in a 1950 article. He had already employees with revenues of $3 billion. The
filed for a patent on core memory, which company filed for Bankruptcy in August
was issued in May 1955. IBM and other 1992. See page 6
